Mcgarrybowen's Chief Strategist on Drones, Data, and Diving Boards for Brands

Zimmerman who was employee number eight of the sole creative shop within the Dentsu Aegis Network holding company also described the agency39s focus on diversity and the elevation of women leaders how strategy is the diving board and a creative idea is the dive in to the pool and why just as every story needs an enemy so does every brand But does she think data is the enemy of creativityThe following topline highlights of the full discussion make for one of the most compelling conversations I39ve had recently and is a mustlisten for anyone seeking to understand the imperative basics of solid strategic thinking to grow a brandThe following has been edited for clarity and length so listen here to the complete podcast for all the goods amp8211 including the genesis of her passion for shoes And subscribe to MediaVillage39s Insider InSites recently cited as a top podcast for digital advertising professionals on any platform amp8212 Stitcher Spotify iHeartRadio GooglePodcasts Apple TuneIn and YouTubeEB Moss Jennifer you were mcgarrybowen employee number eight but also the first female executive rightJennifer Zimmerman John McGarry and Gordon Bowen founded mcgarrybowen with an intent to create something new with a 39gentleman rebel39 ethos and looked for people with quality of thought but also diversity of thought to really challenge the status quo out there in the marketplace I might39ve been the first female executive but we are now an organization filled with them reflecting the ongoing desire for the best and brightest rather than a desire to specifically find female executivesMoss What drives the push for diversity and inclusion in the media worldZimmerman Two factors One client organizations are looking at their diversity within their agency partnersamp8230 We work very closely with Verizon for example which has made it a priority amp8212 with a metric around it amp8212 to ensure that we have a diverse talent base that reflects their customer base The second point is if you39re trying to persuade and compel people in the world you need to have people that look like the people in the worldMoss We celebrated Diego Scotti of Verizon for activism around diversity at our Advancing Diversity Honors last year And you recently added another client to your roster Hershey39s whose chief marketing officer Jill Baskin is being honored at this year39s induction at CES But speaking of CMOs how do you distinguish between that role and the chief strategy officer roleZimmerman Most CMOs are responsible for the brand in their category as a driver of their business strategy laying out their vision and using the brand as an asset to drive the business forward with a very vertical orientation I have a broad context as an agency CSO I work across any category I have insights about people who love Hidden Valley Ranch salad dressing or Hershey39s chocolate I know a little bit about technology through our work with Verizon and Intel so I take a very broad perspective amp8212 what consumers are thinking as people in the world amp8212 and bring those insights to our clients If you think of a creative idea as a dive strategy is the diving board it39s how you get into the pool It39s really the strategic intent that underpins the creative executions that are brought to life in a compelling wayMoss This is what you call quotBig Organizing IdeasquotZimmerman Yes amp8212 quotplatform thinkingquot that helps galvanize a brand39s point of view is big in that it transcends the category and organizing in that it helps a company understand how to behave through that lensA great example is the quotpowerful backing of American Expressquot Backing is the new strategy platform for American Express Their strategic intent for the brand is to back their customers in proactive and meaningful ways in life and business The creative expression of that is about the new essentiality quotDon39t live life without itquot quotBackingquot as a thought can transcend communications and help the company think about their policies their new value propositions even how they train their employeesMoss So that facilitates the iterations needed across media and marketing Once you have that platform you can apply it everywhere it needs to goZimmerman Absolutely The Big Organizing Idea is now mission critical As you spend time with CMOs the number of channels the number of actions and brand experiences that are proliferating in the world has required a uniform point of view to create different articulations of thatWe always say quotIf you know what you believe you know how to behavequot If you know you39re a backing brand then that can become the lens for all your behaviors in the marketplace It feels like a shared brand experience without being sort of matching luggageMoss You wrote a post saying quotEvery story and every brand needs an enemy like Jet Blue39s 39jetting39 versus flyingquot So Jennifer in your story as a strategist what39s your perception of the enemyZimmerman We39re always telling brands that if you39re going to stand up for something by definition you have to stand against something The tension the interesting part of any story is the villain When you go to make creative think of it like being a gondolier You have to push off of something to create momentum Our strategy framework is really born from storytelling convention amp8212 reframing the problem in an interesting way and the moral of the story is a statement of beliefMoss Do you think data is the enemy of creativityZimmerman I don39t think so but there39s a natural tension between solving problems starting with data and solving problems starting with creativity Many of our clients are datadriven or dataengaged and we embrace the power of data But like with seventhgrade math If you do subtraction before you do division and exponents you get a different or wrong answer The order matters If you start with data first like how much more efficiently can I find people and market and create improvements I think you get a lot of head nods but not a lot of heart nods It39s a very rational approach Increasingly the way to front the marketplace is to find ways to emotionalize some of these issuesMoss In a previous podcast episode I did with one of your clients Clorox then CMO Eric Reynolds said quotYou39ve got to make an idea that connects with the head and the heart that39s relevant for the category and the brand but also the personquot So what39s the process for a brand to find what you call their unfair advantage Zimmerman The Clorox organization is a great example of a company that understands and insists on the power of creativity and yet uses data powerfully to create value They39re an and company not an eitheror As Eric and most CMOs understand having an idea that consumers can buy into versus just a proposition that they can buy is increasingly how you win in the marketplace There39s a lot of discussion about digital disruption I actually think a more nefarious disruption out there is parity disruption because increasingly all brands or product offerings are the same a uniformity in every category I think figuring out what your point of view is what you39re advocating for versus what39s your point of difference which is harder than ever to find and sustain is really importantMoss On the head side Dentsu Aegis Network also acquired Merkel and now has more strength in the data area How are you interfacing with the other agencies in the familyZimmerman Merkel is a really robust CRM and data company with a product called M1 which is a powerful asset amp8212 a database of individuals that are trackable that are addressable The way it39s primarily used in the Dentsu Aegis Network today given its association with the media buying and the CRM side is to find people to target from a media perspective If you look at that data through the lens of creativity it can actually spawn a whole variety of wonderful insights And again do creative people love data No not in its raw form They find it intimidating and hard to digest Do creative people love insights Hell yeah Because it actually allows them to start to key their thinking off of something that39s powerful and tangible and meaningfulI think the key for us moving forward and the big opportunity for a lot of brands is to figure out how to put that data trove in the hands of creative people in a way that they can use it in service of the creation of ideasClick the social buttons to share this story with your friends and colleaguesThe opinions and points of view expressed in this content are exclusively the views of the author andor subjects and do not necessarily represent the views of MediaVillagecomMyersBizNet Inc management or associated writers

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Mcgarrybowen's Chief Strategist on Drones, Data, and Diving Boards for Brands

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Mcgarrybowen's Chief Strategist on Drones, Data, and Diving Boards for Brands

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